With the political issues occurring around the world today, people have been left without a place to call home or to seek refuge outside of their homeland. Out of the 7 billion human beings that make up our world today, 65.3 million people are displaced by force and 21.3 million are refugees.
54 percent of these refugees came from three countries. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in 2015 Syria had the highest number of refugees with 4.9 million refugees. Afghanistan has the second highest number of refugees with 2.7 million.
Turkey, Pakistan and Lebanon are the top three countries that host refugees. Turkey hosts 2.5 million refugees, Pakistan with 1.6 million refugees (mainly from Afghanistan), and Lebanon with 1.1 million refugees.
Today the issue of the refugee crisis is one that has caused different problems for people seeking to leave their unstable home country and find security elsewhere. Within Syria, about 6 million Syrians are displaced and 13 million are in need of humanitarian aid.
The neighboring countries, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan had been taking in Syrians looking for refuge but as of now, these countries have closed their borders to any more Syrians. As a result, Syrians have taken other actions to find safety. Some pay to be smuggled into Europe, risking their chances at getting caught and sent back or dying on the way, as many have already.
The saddening image of the young Syrian boy washed up on the coast of Turkey was one that shook the hearts of many all over the world. Aylan Kurdi, only three years old, died along with his mother and brother who were heading to Greece from Turkey; only his father survived.
Recently, on October 25th, 2016 the famous Afghan woman, Sharbat Gula, who was photographed in the National Geographic at age 12 for her striking green eyes was arrested by the Pakistani authorities for illegally staying in Pakistan under false documents. October 30th, 2016 Gula was released from jail on bail but her arrest is a symbol of the fear that Afghans endure while escaping their war-torn Afghanistan for safety in nearby Pakistan.
These examples are just a few of the struggles that refugees and displaced people go through when they escape their unsafe home country. The hopes that people have for safety, a new life, and a new home are sometimes jeopardized or met with hardships that cut their dreams short. Regardless of the dangers, the hope for a better life and stability is prioritized in the minds of those seeking refuge.
